on whether to sign off on the long-awaited initial public

offering of its state energy giant Saudi Aramco.

The company is the kingdom's biggest revenue earner.

And Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the heir apparent,

has sought to accelerate plans for the listing

in recent months.

The flotation is at the heart of ambitious plans

to revamp Saudi Arabia's economy with tens of billions

of dollars urgently needed to fund mega-projects

and develop new industries.

But will Saudi Aramco get the $2tn valuation

that the young, rather impatient Prince Mohammad is after?

Some industry analysts believe the company's worth closer

to $1.5tn.

But potential investors from wealthy families

in the kingdom to sovereign institutions in the Middle East

and elsewhere, will be weighing up a series of factors

ahead of any listing, which Saudi officials want to happen

as early as this year.

First is energy security.

September saw a series of attacks

on Saudi energy infrastructure, which halved the kingdom's oil

production.

Even as officials now say the company has bounced back

like a phoenix from the ashes, the incident

laid bare the vulnerability of the world's biggest exporter,

called into question the kingdom's reputation

as a reliable producer and the country's ability

to protect its prized assets.

I would say that Saudi Arabia is a consumer-oriented country.

And we have, even during under duress

and under this stressful environment,

we have demonstrated our resilience

as a government, our restraint as a government,

I must say also.

Second is government interference.

Prince Mohammad has given more influence

to the kingdom's public investment

fund over the IPO process.

This is his chosen vehicle for enacting his reforms.

And its head is now the chairman of Saudi Aramco.

He has also appointed his older half brother, Prince Abdulaziz,

as energy minister, replacing industry veteran Khalid

al-Falih who is privately against the IPO.

The series of moves has raised the prospect

of creeping state influence in the company's corporate affairs

and driven fears that Prince Mohammad is determined

to dictate the terms of the listing

rather than leave it to market forces.

Riyadh is pressuring wealthy Saudi families

to buy stakes in Saudi Aramco.

And it has pushed the company to cut back

on its international expansion and future capital spending

plans.

Traditionally, this was the domain of corporate executives

not government officials.

And third is fiscal terms.

Riyadh is pulling out all the stops

to get this listing of up to 3 per cent

of the company over the line.

Saudi Arabia is planning to change state royalty payments

and cut corporation tax, alongside announcing

an annual dividend of $75bn to woo potential investors.

In an unprecedented move, Riyadh said

minority investors will be prioritised in any shareholder

handouts that will still largely go to the Saudi state.

Yet as of right now the dividend yield

is below that of some other international energy majors,

such as Royal Dutch Shell or ExxonMobil.

So why would an investor want to buy in?

Some might say it is because Saudi Aramco is

one of the best-run oil and gas companies

out there, that manages the energy assets for the world's

largest exporter nation.

Others will argue that all the banks which have aggressively

lobbied their way into roles for the IPO

have endless rosters of wealthy clients

and so that they will make this happen.

But will that alone be enough?

Ultimately, the company is an arm

of the Saudi state, which is becoming

more vulnerable to the whims of the country's de facto ruler.